The present invention relates generally to containers and more particularly to a smart and secure container.
Elements (e.g., containers, vessels, people) in international cargo transit (via air, sea or land) all host a potential threat. Examples of such threats include, but are not limited to: diverting a container from its planned route and exchanging cargo including weapons of mass destruction (WMD) with a portion of the original content; sealing cargo containers that include WMD in the container; and the transport of one or more terrorists inside the container. It is highly desirable to minimize the risk of threat. It is also desirable to minimize potential threats by keeping elements that have a high probability of threat outside the intended target area/environment.
In February of 2002, Robert C. Bonner, the Commissioner of Customs stated that “[t]he Container Security Initiative consists of four core elements. These are: (1) establishing security criteria to identify high-risk containers; (2) pre-screening containers before they arrive at U.S. ports; (3) using technology to pre-screen high-risk containers; and (4) developing and using smart and secure containers.”
The development and use of smart and secure containers should employ technologies that eliminate the highest percent possible of the non-threatening cargo transit elements in order for the physical security interdiction and verification to take place on the real threat(s). The interdiction should take place at the farthest possible point from the intended target. In addition to the threats described above, additional concerns include the loading of non-smart containers onto a vehicle (e.g., ship); a non-smart container with WMD cargo being loaded onto the ship en route to the destination; and one or more smart containers being disabled or damaged en route.
Current containers include an electronic seal and global positioning system (GPS) location logging. The electronic seal not only provides a tamper detection function but can also be used to carry data related to the container (e.g., manifest). The GPS logging function permits detecting a deviation from the planned transit route at the destination point. Such a system utilizing only standalone electronic seals and GPS logging does not provide adequate security against a high-risk container (e.g., one in which the seal has been violated in transit or in which a suspicious route deviation has occurred). Such a system cannot identify a high-risk container while still en route (e.g., on the open ocean or in flight). In addition, such a system places an implicit trust in the individual(s) activating the electronic seal.
Thus, there is a need for a system that can detect and minimize the risk of high-risk containers. Such minimization of the risk includes detection of high-risk containers sufficiently early so that the container can be diverted from the intended target area.